Fire-extinguisher and fire-alarm



Y G.-B.BUELL.M v PIRE-EXTINGUISH13RAND HRB ALARM.' No. 294,308.

.Patented Feb. 26; 1884.

WITNESSES UNITED vSTATES cHAELEs E. BUELL, or NEW HAVEN, ooNNE'fnicUr.v

PATENT OFFICE..

y FIRE-ExTlNeulsl-IERAND FIRE-ALARM;-

SPCIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No.'294, 308, dated February 26, 184.

' Application filed November edities. (No model.)

form of sprinkler to which my invention is applicable Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the sprinkler shown in Fig. 1 arranged in accordance with my invention. Figs. 8 and 4 are other modes of applying my invention. Fig. 5represents details of my invention. Fig. 6 represents myinvention applied to a sprinkler.

. Referring to Fig. 1, represents the sprink ler, with openings at d d d d, so arranged with relation to each other that water discharged from said openings will be spread over van eX- tended area by the force of streams from opposite directions acting upon each other. The sprinkler is preferably composed of a screwthreaded part adapt-ed to be connected' to a water-conducting pipe, and 'to enter the distributing portion to form a valve-seat for the valve'c, and to be secured to said distributing portion by screwing into it or otherwise. The parts of the sprinkler may be of hard rubber or other electrical insulating material, or of metal, or a portion only be of metal, for the purposes to be hereinafter mentioned. The valve of is preferably faced with lead or other yielding material, and has a valve-stem, o, adapted to protrude through a hole in the 0therwise closed end of the sprinkler at c, when the valve o is pressed upon its seat. Vhen the valve,with its stem, is free to move, a pressure of water will rem ove the valve from its seat and admit water to the distributing portion of the sprinkler. Vhen the sprinkler is pendent, as shown-the valve and stem being free to movethe gravity of the valve and stem will cause the valve to open, so that water turned 0n after the sprinkler has thus opened will at once discharge through the sprinkler. The sprinkler is preferably used in a position the reverse of I pendent where there is liability to freeze and to become opened bythe pressure of water after being released by heat.

Fig. 2 shows the sprinkler A with its valve o held to close the sprinkler against a waterpressure b y the lever a, which is pivoted at e, the long arm of the lever a being forced away from the body of thesprinkler to give a desired pressure on the valveof, and may be held t0 the projection p by a rivet or otherwise, so as to be released by heat; `or'the rivet at c may be of easily-fused material.

Fig. 3 shows the lever a, provided with a hard-metal nut, a, solderedor riveted or otherwise secured to the long arm of said lever by an easily-fused material; or thenutn may be of easily-fused material, with the screw g adapted to s'crew through said nut and press the long arm of lever I a away from the body of said sprinkler, and to hold it away until released by heat. pressure is adj usted on the valve o.

By means of the screw g the The lever a is adapted to be secured at e by a wire or screw in anobvious manner, and when the said lever is provided with the nut fn, secured thereto-by a fusible material, it requires no application of heat to attach said lever to the sprinklerA; and when manufactured in large numbers, so as to be used interchangeably, the lever a, with the nut n secured thereto, and with the screw g inv said nut, may be sent through the mails or otherwise and attached to the body of the sprinkler, adapted to receive it without theapplicationv of heat or the trouble and skill necessary in those forms heretofore made in which the partsV required soldering. A trigger, f, pivoted at e', and

adapted to rest across the end of the valvesteml o, may be provided, to secure certainty 1n the movement of the lever a away from the stemt when it is released;` as the trigger f projects beyond'the stem o, the short arm of lever a engages slightly therewith-and becomes released by slight motion. The distributing portion of the sprinkler is provided with openings cl d d d, adapted to discharge the water from one of the openings directly toward another stream coming from another opening, so that the streams are directly opposed to each other, in contradistinction to streams that intersect each other at an ob- IOO lique angle, and are known as intersecting streams.77

Fig. -t shows the distributing portion of the sprinkler as slitted to spread the water, instead of having the openings at d d d d, as in the previously-described form. In either of the described forms the openings or slits are not held closed by the valve or movable parts of the sprinkler, but the water is excluded from the distributing portion ofthe sprinkler when the valve@ is pressed to its seat,witl1 obvious advantages. The openings d d d d and slits may be so stopped and covered as to exclude dust and lint from entering the distributing portion of the sprinkler, and to be removable by melting out or washed off by water. I am aware that a perforated sprinkler may be used.

Fig. 5 represents two metal plates, l and 2, with covered circuit wires w connected to them. rlhe metal plates l and 2 are coated on one 'side with insulating material, and are intended to be placed, with their uncoated surfaces together, between the screw q and the sprinkler A, as shown; or they may be placed between the lever a and the stein r, so that the pressure of the movable parts will hold them in electrical contact; and when said pressure ceases they will separate, and an electric circuit, formed in part by them, will be ruptured, and an alarm apparatus or apparatus for controlling a water; supply, or both-whiehare adapted to be made operative by the rupture ot' a normally-closed circuitwill be made operative by theirseparation. To facilitate the separation of the plates, the wires lw yw may be formed into a spiral and connected to them under tension, and an intermediate third piece of uninsulated metal be placed between them.

Fig. 6 shows the said plates l and2 held against the sprinkler A by the pressure of the moving parts of the device.

When the sprinkler A, or a portion thereof, is of insulating material, various circuit-controlling devices of an obvious form may be substituted for the plates l and 2, and made operative by the moving parts o1' a sprinkler when it is opened by heat, by accident, or by design, and the moving parts of a sprinkler be made to close a normally-open circuit wit-hout departing from my invention. A wedge or other equivalent mode of adjustment may be substituted for the screw g.

My invention contemplates the use of a series of the hereinbefore-deseribed sprinklers connected to one metal conducting-pil'ie, or branches"therefrom, and with an electric circuit eommon to the several sprinklers of said series, and by making the said sprinklers of an insulating material, or insulating the electrical contact -pieces from the body of the sprinkler, or the sprinklers from the conducting-pipe, an electrical circuit common to the several sprinklers will be made operative by the opening of Vcit-her sprinkler of the series,

as described; and the conducting-pipe itself, if desired, may be used as a part of the conducting-circuit.

Vhat I elai 1n isl. A sprinkler provided with a screwthreaded portion and with means for spreading the water, combined with a valve for closing the sprinkler and a lever having a fusible adjunct, whereby said valve is held normally closed, said lever being attached to the sprinkler without the application of heat, substantially as set forth.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a lever provided with a fusible adjunct and adapted to be attached to a sprinkler without the interposition of heat, substantially as set forth.

3. rl`he combination, with a sprinkler and a valve for closing the same, of a lever pivoted to the sprinkler and provided with a fusible adjunct, and means whereby one arm of the lever is caused to hold the valve closed while the other arm is pressed outward from the sprinkler until released by heat, substantially as set forth.

Lt. A sprinkler constructed to deliver opposed streams, and provided with a valve governing the water-supply, combined with fusible devices adjustably attached to the sprinkler, and connected thereto without the interposition of heat, substantially as set forth.

5. The sprinkler A, provided with a valve, as described, combined with the pivoted lever a and means whereby one arm of the lever is pressed outward from the sprinkler, while the other arm is caused to exert a pressure upon the valve, substantially-as set forth.

o. The sprinkler A, provided with a valve, as described,- eombined with the pivoted lever a, having a fusible adjunct, and the screw g, substantially as set forth.

7. The sprinkler A, combined with the pivoted lever a, valve-stem e, and intermediate device, f, substantially as herein set forth.

S. A sprinkler constructed to deliver opposed streams, combined with fusible devices adjustably attached to the sprinkler upoh its exterior, and connected thereto without the interposition ol'heat, substantially as set forth.

9. The sprinkler A, having arms provided with openings d d, combined with the valve e', pivoted lever a, screw g, and nut n, the whole constructed to operate substantially as set forth. 10. Asprinkler consisting of ascrew-threaded portion, a distributing portion secured thereto and provided with outlets adapted to discharge opposed streams, a valve seated against the screw-threaded portion, so as to exclude water from the distributing portion, and fusible devices located upon the outside of the sprinkler, for holding said valve to its scat until released by the action of heat, substantially as described.

l1. The combination, with a sprinkler, of electrical-circuit connections insulated therefrom, and constructed to be actuated by the IOO IIO

294,308 r l 'a electrical-circuit connections insulated there-` from and adapted to be actuated by the pressure of Water acting uponthe moving parts of the sprinkler, for making operative an electric circuit when said sprinkler becomes open.

13. The combination, with the sprinkler A, of the contact-plates 1 and 2 and means for holding them in contact Witheach other until the sprinkler. becomes open.

14. The combination7 with a sprinkler, of

electrical-circuit-controlling devices insulated therefrom and adapted to make operative an electric circuit when said sprinkler opens, and so arranged in relation to the moving parts of said sprinkler as to neither accelerate nor re` 2o vtard their motion When the said moving parts are released.

15. ,The combination, with a sprinkler, of electrical-circuit-controlling devices insulated thereon in amanner to become detached' there- 25 from when said sprinkler opens..

. v l CHARLES EBUELL..

v Vitnesses: T Y

W. E. CHAFFEE, Gno. M'. LooKWooD. 

